Candlelight And Romance
by badly-knitted
Summary: Dee and Ryo have been together for a year, so Dee has sought out the perfect place for their anniversary dinner. Written for fic promptly. Set a year after the end of Vol. 7.


**Title:** Candlelight And Romance

**Author:** badly-knitted

**Characters:** Dee, Ryo.

**Rating:** PG

**Setting: **A year after the end of Vol. 7.

**Summary:** Dee and Ryo have been together for a year, so Dee has sought out the perfect place for their anniversary dinner.

**Word Count:** 1083

**Written For:** My own prompt 'FAKE, Dee/Ryo, Ryo by candle light,' at fic_promptly.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.

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The restaurant was small, intimate, shamelessly romantic, but that was no less than Ryo deserved, at least in Dee's opinion. It was the first anniversary of the beginning of their relationship; not the anniversary of the first time they slept together, that had been three weeks ago, but the anniversary of the night Ryo had taken Dee out to dinner and told him he loved him.

Tonight, Dee was returning the favor.

He wanted to do it right though, so he picked a different restaurant to the one they'd eaten at a year ago. That one catered to families, but this one was all about couples. Small tables, each set for two, indirect lighting around the walls, and actual candles on the tables. Everything about it spoke of romance without being over the top.

Dee had done his research, found a place that was gay-friendly as well as intimate. Nothing spoils a romantic evening faster than waiters refusing to serve you simply because of your sexual orientation, Dee had been through that before and had no wish to experience it again. He didn't want Ryo to ever have to know what that kind of discrimination felt like; he was realistic enough to know that he couldn't protect his lover from other people's prejudices forever, but at least for tonight he could take certain precautions against any unpleasantness.

They weren't the only gay couple here either, which was instantly reassuring; two men were sitting at one of the tables, holding hands, and two women at another, their chairs slid together, feeding each other morsels from their own plates. Neither couple had been tucked away in a dark corner to avoid offending other diners; there was no segregation here and if anyone dared to complain, they'd be the ones shown the door.

Ushered to their table by a handsome young waiter, something Dee couldn't avoid noticing in passing even though he had no interest in anyone but Ryo, they were seated and handed menus, along with the wine list. Dee thanked the waiter, turned to Ryo, and was suddenly struck speechless; he was always a delight to Dee's eyes, but by candlelight, Ryo was breathtakingly beautiful.

The golden glow of the candles between them struck answering sparks of golden light from Ryo's burnished hair, which fell softly over his forehead, part obscuring the deep, dark wells of his eyes. His fair skin, lightly tanned by the sun and wind, seemed to glow too, as if he was somehow lit from within.

"Dee?" Ryo frowned slightly, puzzled by the way his lover was looking at him.

"You are so goddamned beautiful," Dee said, his tone hushed and almost reverent. "How the Hell did a schmuck like me get so lucky?"

"Have you looked at yourself in a mirror lately?" Ryo asked, a teasingly affectionate smile curving his full lips. "I should be asking myself that question because from where I'm sitting, I'm the lucky one."

"How 'bout we just agree we're both lucky and leave it at that?"

"I can live with that." Ryo looked around at the restaurant setting. "I've never been here before, it's nice, very cosy."

"Yeah, I've never been here either but I've read a ton of recommendations online. The food's supposed to be really good too." He tore his eyes away from the vision that was Ryo and opened his menu. He could stare at his lover to his heart's content over dinner, but first they needed to order.

Leaning towards each other over the table, they discussed the wine options and what would go best with their chosen entrees before finally ordering a good Bordeaux to go with Dee's sirloin steak and Ryo's crispy orange beef.

When the food arrived, it was even better than Dee was expecting, with everything cooked to perfection, but he found it hard to pay his dinner the attention it deserved, distracted as he was by the sight of the man across from him, glowing serenely in the candlelight. He was almost surprised when he glanced down to find his plate empty.

Across from him, Ryo set his cutlery down on his equally empty plate and picked up his wine glass, sipping slowly. They'd been chatting throughout the meal, making small talk and just enjoying each other's company.

"That was excellent."

"Mm, mine too," Dee agreed. "Still got room for dessert? I've heard they do decadent things with chocolate here."

Ryo grinned. "Sounds good, I'm game if you are."

If the main course had been perfect, dessert was a taste of heaven. Light, fluffy, rich chocolate mousse on a bed of crispy shortcake, topped with fresh cream, a thick sauce made from cherries, and curls of bitter dark chocolate to take the edge off the sweetness. Dee decided the only thing that would have tasted better would have been licking it off Ryo, and his pants grew uncomfortably tight at the thought. Maybe another time they could get dessert to go and he'd see if he was right.

Pleasantly stuffed, and relaxed from both the wine and the atmosphere in the small restaurant, they lingered over coffee, with Dee gazing admiringly at his lover the entire time, something that didn't escape Ryo's notice. A warm pink flush stained his cheeks. "I wish you wouldn't stare at me like that, Dee!"

"Why? You look even more gorgeous than usual by candlelight, and I want to commit everything about tonight to memory. A year ago, I thought I'd blown it, that you'd decided the night we spent together was a mistake and that you wanted to go back to bein' just friends. Just the thought of that was killin' me, but I would've accepted it, as long as you were still in my life. Now here we are together, after the best year of my entire life and I still have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure I'm not dreamin'. And this is still just the beginning! I can't wait to see what the next year brings."

"As long as we're together, it doesn't matter," Ryo said with a smile. "It can only get better."

Raising their coffee cups as one, they clinked them together in a toast. "To next year," Dee said, his smile so wide it almost made his cheeks hurt.

"And to the rest of our lives together," Ryo added.

"I'll drink to that." And they did so before leaning across the table in the candlelight and sealing their promise with a kiss.

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The End


End file.
